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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Year in Review Day 4: Cerberus' New Year's Resolution From 2011

I started to get back into Wargaming late in 2010 after nearly 15 years out of the hobby. I reconnected with some old friends and we inspired each other to get out there and play more. Those of you who know Furious Phil from Ruinous Powers know what kind of painter he is. His stuff could easily be GW studio quality.

Thanks to his prodding and encouragement, I resolved that in 2011 I would focus much more on my painting skills than I had before. At the time, I was quite happy with my Void Hound Marines. Unfortunately, after GW discontinued their Midnight Blue paint, I had a very difficult time matching anything new with my old stuff.

You can see my issue with color matching in the Dreadnoughts. The Ironclad (nicknamed Dready by Oscar) is in my original scheme, while the one on the left is base coated with the new version.

To put it simply, I was a lazy painter. I decided to dig out my brother's old Eldar army. Phil gave me a ton of Eldar stuff he wasn't using and I started selling off a ton of old gaming stuff on Ebay. My Eldar host was growing. I figured I'd take Phil's suggestion and work on my skills with them. Thanks to the variety of colors and looks in an Eldar force, I got to experiment at will while still making them look like a cohesive force.

If you look closely, you will see the secret ingredient that helped me so much; Citadel Washes. Devlan Mud is obviously prevalent, but I used some Asurmen Blue on the Shining Spears (only in the recesses to keep the white so bright), Thraka Green on the Scorpions, and old Citadel Red and Yellow Inks on the Fire Dragons (Personally, I think they are my best unit to date). I start with white primer (I only use black if I am painting black), followed by all the base coat colors, a layer of washes, and a quick dry brush if needed.

I started using the same basic technique on my Warmachine army as well.

2012 will see me combine my new painting skills with the rest of the hobby. I want to build an army from the ground up and paint them the same consistent scheme from start to finish. I have stared repainting my entire Marine collection to fit the Badab War campaign we will be playing next spring. BEHOLD! The Star Phantoms!

Sure enough, that's Dready on the left (although Oscar doesn't like his new look nearly as much as I do). I chose the Star Phantoms mostly for their fluff, but I have always wanted to paint a white army. It must be the Storm Trooper in me!

I can't forget all the Battle Mechs I painted as well. I hope to continue playing Battle Tech as much as I can this year. I'll be getting back to my duties as a CDT Agent soon. Look forward to a Clan Invasion campaign at GS this summer!

One final note; 2012 will also be the year I dive head first into Warhammer Fantasy. I'm placing an order for two Lizardmen Battalions, a Slann Mage Priest, and a Stegadon (or two). I already have a great orange, red, and green scheme planned out for them. Look forward to some test models posted in January.